CITROEN has launched a car with a vibrating seat - and the idea hasn't come from an Ann Summers catalogue.

CITROEN has launched a car with a vibrating seat - and the idea hasn't come from an Ann Summers catalogue.

In fact the seat - on the new look C5 model - is no gimmick.. It's the French carmaker's latest safety device to stop drivers falling asleep at the wheel.

The increase in the number of drivers dozing off on motorways has spurred them on to finding a solution.

Now the new C5 comes with the option of the Lane Departure Warning System at #300. Six sensors under the bumper detect when the vehicle drifts across the white line and the side of the seat vibrates to warn the driver.

The system only works at speeds over 50 miles per hour and if you signal before changing lanes it doesn't cut in.

Fail to signal and the sensors will trigger the vibrating mechanism in either the right or left side of the driver's seat, depending on the direction.

It can also detect the red, yellow and blue lines used in some European countries and can differentiate between continuous or broken lines as well as other road marking such as arrows or written lane information.

And if you find it all too much on some days, just switch it off.

While LDWS is the most unusual feature offered on the new C5, it's not the only innovation on a car which has undergone a distinctive makeover.

Unusually for a car in this class the C5 is now available with a speed limiter, designed to prevent a driver breaking any speed limit.

Operated by a switch on the steering column, you set a maximum speed which the car will then not exceed.

In emergencies, however, it can be overridden by a firm kick down of the pedal.

The new look C5 also comes with what have been termed "bendy headlights" that help you see around bends.

Standard on the flagship Exclusive model and optional on all others the new Xenon Dual Function Directional Headlamps turn as you enter a bend, so lighting up the area ahead of you.

Front parking sensors now appear on the C5 for the first time as do laminated side windows on the Exclusive model to reduce break-ins and make the car quieter.

All models in the new range now get seven airbags instead of six, Electronic Stability Programme, automatic air con and an alarm - features which, if ordered as optional extras - would cost around #1,000.

Yet the good news is prices are staying the same, and in some cases are lower.